13.4% of MOH survey respondents in 2020 have reported to have poor mental health, with youths suffering the highest proportion of poor mental health, with up to 21.5%.
The numbers are worrying, and the government has responded.
With the #BetterTogether campaign, the People Action Party is aiming for solidarity for those with mental health issues, to raise awareness and drive collective action for improvement.
As a part of this campaign, local film director Royston Tan made a short clip alongside Minister of Education Chan Chun Sing, Minister of State for Social and Family Development and Education Sun Xueling, as well as an MP of Jalan Besar GRC Wan Rizal.
With the hashtag #BetterTogether, they spoke about receiving hate comments online targetting them and their family, as well as the expectations of everyone weighing down on them, which affected their mental health.
“They can really hurt,” Minister Chan Chun Sing stated, sincerely.
However, they did call for action with encouragements to look up and forward, and become each others’ “circle of support” to “get better together”.
Social Media Follow-Ups
In a Facebook post that Minister Chan authored, he confessed that the film was “out of [his] comfort zone”, and that he wanted to spread awareness on mental health, showing Singaporeans that “mental health can affect anyone”.
Minister Sun added in her Instagram post that “mental health issues are always hard to talk about”, because they “deal with our innermost fears, expectations, disappointments and past hurts”.
Minister Wan Rizal also set that forth that the People Action Party launched this campaign to “de-stigmatise mental health issues so more individuals will not be afraid to seek help”.
Local ice cream shop Apiary has also launched a new Bergamot and Jasmine Green Tea sorbet with Roasted Pineapple ice cream named after the #BetterTogether campaign.
Featured Image: Facebook (Chan Chun Sing)